Ice-rink dasherboards lacking protruding sills

Abstract

A system to reduce or eliminate the sill of dasher boards on the play area side of a transparent plane is disclosed. The system features spacers and extensions which support the transparent panes in a more inward position. The system can be installed initially or used to retrofit an arena. The system is suitable for straight and curved-corner portions of the boards assembly. The system is suitable for use with panes of tempered glass or of transparent plastic.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. Dasherboard assembly, wherein:
 the assembly includes board-sections, which surround and enclose a playing-surface; 
 the board-sections are at least thirteen cm thick; 
 the assembly includes panes; 
 the panes are fixed on top of the board-sections; 
 the panes have respective inwards-facing faces; 
 the improvement wherein: 
 the assembly is characterized by the absence, as a structure, of any protrusion inwards from the inwards-facing faces of the panes; 
 being a protrusion which, if present, would present a significant upward-facing portion thereof to the face or head of a player who is falling down while crashing into the assembly; and 
 portions of the protrusions are defined as upwards-facing insofar as the portions lie at an angle of 45° or less to the horizontal. 
 
     
     
       2. As in  claim 1 , wherein the upward-facing portion of the protrusion is defined as significant if the portion protrudes, in the inwards direction, more than 3.5 centimeters, measured from the inwards-facing face of the pane. 
     
     
       3. As in  claim 1 , wherein the upward-facing portion of the protrusion is defined as significant if the portion protrudes, in the inwards direction, more than 2.5 centimeters, measured from the inwards-facing face of the pane. 
     
     
       4. As in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the board-sections include respective frameworks, having ice-side pads on the insides thereof; 
 the board-sections are so configured as to be bolted or otherwise fastened to the floor, and to each other; 
 the frameworks of the board-sections include respective top stringers, located at or near the tops of the frames; 
 the frameworks include respective pillar-support-stringers, located lower down the framework; 
 the assembly includes board-pillars, spacer-pillars, and pane-pillars; 
 the board-pillars extend down from the top stringers to the pillar-support-stringers; 
 the panes engage the pane-pillars and are physically supported thereby; 
 the spacer-pillars engage the board-pillars, and the pane-pillars engage the spacer-pillars; 
 the pane-pillars are supported from the board-pillars by the engagement of both with the spacer-pillars; 
 the structural arrangement of the pillars, and of the engagements between them, are such that the panes are physically supported by and from the frameworks; and 
 the dimensional configuration of the pillars is such that the pane-pillars are spaced laterally inwards relative to the board-pillars. 
 
     
     
       5. As in  claim 4 , wherein:
 the board-sections include respective caps or sills; 
 the sills reside on top of the frameworks, and overlie the ice-side pads thereof; 
 the panes reside on top of the board-sections in that the panes rest on top of the sills; 
 the sills have respective upwards-facing faces thereof; 
 the protruding upward-facing portions comprise protruding upward-facing faces of the sills; 
 the board-pillars extend from above the height of the sills, down through the sills, down to the pillar-support-stringers. 
 
     
     
       6. As in  claim 5 , wherein the spacer-pillars and the pane-pillars rest against upwards-facing surfaces of the sills. 
     
     
       7. As in  claim 4 , wherein:
 the pane-pillars are incorporated into the spacer-pillars, to form unitary-pillars; and 
 the unitary-pillars, in which the spacer-pillars and the pane-pillars are combined, are separate from the board-pillars. 
 
     
     
       8. As in  claim 7 , wherein:
 the board-pillars are of a constant cross-section along their lengths; 
 the unitary-pillars that combine the spacer-pillars and the pane-pillars are of a constant cross-section along their lengths; 
 the cross-sections of the unitary-pillars are so shaped as to interlock, on a male/female basis, with the cross-sections of the board-pillars. 
 
     
     
       9. As in  claim 4 , wherein:
 the board-pillars are of a constant cross-section along their lengths; 
 the spacer-pillars are of a constant cross-section along their lengths; 
 the pane-pillars are of a constant cross-section along their lengths; 
 the cross-sections of the pane-pillars are so shaped as to interlock, on a male/female basis, with the cross-sections of the spacer-pillars; 
 the cross-sections of the board-pillars are so shaped as to interlock, on a male/female basis, with the cross-sections of the spacer-pillars. 
 
     
     
       10. As in  claim 4 , wherein:
 the top-stringers include respective spaced-apart top-inside-stringers and top-back-stringers; 
 the board-pillars, in extending down from the top-stringers to the pillar-support-stringers, pass between the top-inside-stringers and the top-back-stringers. 
 
     
     
       11. As in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the board-sections include respective frameworks, having ice-side pads on the insides thereof; 
 the board-sections are so configured as to be bolted or otherwise fastened to the floor, and to each other; 
 the frameworks are provided with respective troughs; 
 the troughs are physically integrated into the frameworks; and 
 the troughs support the panes in that bottom margins of the panes are received within the troughs. 
 
     
     
       12. As in  claim 11 , wherein:
 the frameworks of the board-sections include respective top stringers, located at or near the top of the frame; 
 the frameworks include respective pillar-support-stringers, located lower down the framework; 
 the troughs are physically integrated with board-pillars; 
 the board-pillars extend downwards from the trough and are attached to the pillar-support-stringers of the frameworks; 
 the board-pillars are configured, when a player crashes into the dasherboards, to transmit some of the consequent heavy stress and strain to the pillar-support-stringers and thence into the framework generally. 
 
     
     
       13. As in  claim 11 , wherein the trough is so integrated into the top stringer that impacts received into the trough from the glass are transmitted into the top stringer. 
     
     
       14. As in  claim 1 , wherein the dasherboard assembly is suitable for use in an ice-rink, for the sport of ice-hockey. 
     
     
       15. Procedure for modifying a dasherboard system of an ice-rink, including:
 where the dasherboard system initially is one in which panes are supported with respect to a framework of the dasherboard by means of single-pillars; and 
 where an inside surface of the panes is spaced a distance D1 outwards of a point P on the dasherboard; 
 where frameworks of the dasherboards include respective top stringers, located at or near the tops of the frames; 
 where the frameworks include respective pillar-support-stringers, located lower down the framework; 
 where the single-pillars extend down from the top stringers to the pillar-support-stringers; 
 removing the panes; 
 providing spacer-pillars, pane-pillars, and board-pillars; 
 where the spacer-pillars are (a) combined with the pane-pillars to form unitary pillars; or are (b) separate from, and assembled to, the pane-pillars; 
 assembling the spacer-pillars to the board-pillars; 
 assembling panes to the pane-pillars; 
 where the spacer-pillars and board-pillars are so shaped and configured that, when the spacer-pillars are assembled to the board-pillars, the said inside surface of the panes is now spaced a distance D2 outwards from the said point P on the dasherboard; 
 the pane-pillars now lie substantially closer to the ice, in that the distance D2 is significantly smaller than the distance D1.